


Accidents are Inevitable

by Of_Nyon



Series: tf oneshots [10]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Humanformers, Car Accident, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, M/M, Recovery, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 11:48:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20025313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Of_Nyon/pseuds/Of_Nyon
Summary: Rodimus was in a car accident and unfortunately has had a lot of time to think about his impulsiveness and recklessness. He’s afraid of being confronted by Magnus, but he knows it’ll happen sooner or later.





	Accidents are Inevitable

**Author's Note:**

  * For [goldstorm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldstorm/gifts).

“Drift and Magnus are here to see you, so I’d advise you to stop sulking and get ready to see them.”

Ratchet’s voice had woken Rodimus up, though that was a regular occurrence while he was stuck in the medibay. He blinked as his eyes got used to the light, and his brain finally processed what Ratchet had said.

“Really?” he asked groggily, doing his best to blink the sleep away from his eyes. Three long weeks without seeing his friends and falling in and out of consciousness wasn’t very fun. Also, his roots growing back out stressed him out – whenever he was actually awake. Ratchet had only just approved him for visitations, and it made Rodimus really happy to know the first guests would be Drift and Magnus.

Oh.

Suddenly, the realization that Magnus was also coming brought Rodimus back down to Earth. He avoided looking at the door across the room.

“I know that look,” Ratchet said, crossing his arms as he shifted his weight. Rodimus only lifted an eyebrow at the medic, preparing himself for the lecture he was about to receive. “You’re gonna have to face them sooner or later, y’know.”

“I know,” Rodimus groaned, his shoulders dropping as his gaze fell onto his casts.

He’d been in a nasty car accident. Not his first, as he liked to brag, but this one was definitely one of the more painful ones. Both of his arms were carefully wrapped in thick casts, he had various stitches and bloodied bandages all over his legs, and he’d been surprised to find out that he’d escaped with only a couple cracked ribs. It definitely made laughing a lot easier, but not being able to use his hands was starting to drive him crazy.

Ratchet huffed, watching Rodimus pout as he studied his arms. He knew how the racer felt and would’ve empathized better if his job wasn’t to keep him alive. Ratchet rolled his eyes and stood next to Rodimus, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“They worry, you know,” he said, a rare gentleness coating his words that made Rodimus look up. “The least you could do is let them know that you survived.”

Rodimus nodded, glancing at the door towards his left. If they were already here, he’d see Drift and Magnus soon. He frowned.

“I dunno what I’ll tell them,” he mumbled, more for himself than anything, but still catching the medic’s attention.

“The truth,” Ratchet said matter-of-factly. Rodimus huffed and deflated. Not what he wanted to hear, but still something he needed.

“…Yeah.”

Ratchet sighed and shook his head. It wouldn’t be long before Drift and Magnus showed up, considering he let them know about Rodimus’s state personally. He knew a thing or two about relationships, and watching Rodimus and Magnus’s recent one blossom reminded him of what he went through with Drift.

“And… talk to him,” Ratchet said, deciding to give Rodimus the little advice he had. “He’s asked about you.”

Something in Rodimus changed, and he looked up at Ratchet with a sort of relief. He knew exactly whom Ratchet was talking about. “He has?”

Ratchet smiled. “Of course. He wanted to know if you were alright so he could prepare himself.”

Maybe those weren’t the best choice of words; the gears in Rodimus’s brain were churning and Ratchet could read how he was overthinking what he said. Before he could clarify, there was a gentle knock at the door and a soft-spoken voice.

“Can we come in?”

Rodimus instantly recognized that as Drift, and did his best to sit up. He grinned at Ratchet, wiggling his bruised feet in excitement. Ratchet left his side and walked to the door, giving Rodimus a final glance before opening it.

Drift quickly greeted Ratchet with a peck on the lips. “How is he?”

Ratchet nodded towards the corner of the room. “Ask him yourself.”

Drift looked over and took in the full view. Rodimus lay comfortably in the main bed, still hooked up to too many machines. He looked like hell; his hair was still dirty and outgrowing the dye, he had healing cuts and bruises on his face. Most of his clothes were either shredded from the crash or cut off for the wounds on his arms during his stay here, which Drift avoided looking at. His legs weren’t as bad as he was expecting, only surviving with a couple of bandages from the looks of it. On top of everything, Rodimus was still smiling seeing him.

Drift, thankfully, hadn’t been in the worst of the crash like Rodimus. He’d gotten away with only a couple, thankfully shallow, cuts and bruises on his face and torso. Unless they got infected, they weren’t high priority like Rodimus.

Drift practically flew to Rodimus’s side, hugging him and being mindful of any sore bruises he might have. “Thank Primus you’re okay,” he breathed out, and Rodimus let himself take in the moment. He didn’t even realize how much he missed physical intimacy until that very moment.

Drift didn’t want to let go, but he figured he would need to eventually, and he wanted to chat with Rodimus anyway. Anything to distract him from his arms. Drift pulled away and studied Rodimus again, unsure of what to say first.

Rodimus chuckled with a clear tiredness. “You look like shit.” He meant the clear bags under Drift’s eyes, knowing that his stay at the hospital stressed out his best friend. Drift snickered humorlessly and pulled a chair to sit down in. “You’re as handsome as ever.”

Ratchet moved away from the doorway, grabbing a chair for Magnus, who almost timidly walked in after Drift. He wasn’t in a rush, nodding at the medic and standing next to the door.

“How are you doing, Magnus?” Ratchet asked, realizing Drift and Rodimus were deep in conversation; it would be a cool minute before they finished and gave Magnus a chance to check in. Magnus accepted the chair and sat down, his shoulders remaining tense.

“Good, Ratchet. Better now.” Magnus never lost sight of Rodimus, his eyes softening as he watched Rodimus smile and hold back laughter from whatever Drift said to him. He wasn’t paying attention to their conversation, only glad that Rodimus hadn’t lost his fire in that crash.

Ratchet crossed his arms, though his attitude remained friendly. “I take it you haven’t slept, just like him.” He raised an eyebrow when he noticed Drift glance at him before giving Rodimus all of his attention. Magnus noticed and smiled. The best that he could.

“You would be correct,” Magnus stated, yawning and finally relaxing his shoulders. He reminded himself that this wasn’t a military report, and he could let himself be more vulnerable around his closest friends.

And… lover.

The thought made Magnus feel… weird. This was all still so new to him. Just the word ‘lover’ could very well be exempt from his vocabulary from how little he found himself using it.

His flustered thoughts were put on hold when he felt Ratchet elbowing him. He turned to look at the medic, who was still watching the best friends laughing together.

“Before you run your mouth when it’s your turn,” Ratchet started, not waiting for Magnus to respond. “He wants to talk, and, for once, let him. It’s important… for the both of you.”

Ratchet wasn’t known for the vague things he said, but that made Magnus really consider his words all the more. Rodimus had something important to say, so Magnus would have to listen. Not that he didn’t want to, but… with Rodimus’s reputation of low impulse control…

Whatever. Magnus would listen.

Drift held onto his stomach, his face flushing red as he held back loud chortles at Rodimus’s abstract jokes. “Good to know your humor stayed in one piece, too,” he said between laughs, a laugh turning into a yawn.

“Yeah.” It was contagious, and Rodimus yawned right after him. “You sure you’re alright? You look exhausted.”

“I promise I will be.” Drift rubbed his eyes in an attempt to rid them of sleep. “Don’t worry about me. Focus on recovering. Those arms of yours won’t glue themselves together overnight.”

“At least tell me how the others are doing?” Rodimus asked, uselessly waving his arms around. He got a dirty look from Ratchet, which he promptly ignored.

“They’re worried about you, but, when I go back, they’ll be okay too.” Drift placed a gentle hand on Rodimus and smiled. He looked so tired. “I love you. I’m glad you’re alive. Everyone is.”

The sincerity was incredibly appreciated, and Rodimus forced his brain to stop working overtime. “Yeah, okay, I get it. Stop worrying about others and worry about myself.” He cleared his throat and shifted his gaze. “I love you, too. Thanks for coming.”

“Of course!” Drift smiled and inspected the casts one more time, but didn’t dare make a comment. Rodimus had expected one, but when his best friend looked back up at his eyes, a relief washed over him when he didn’t get another earful about the incident. Ratchet had already done that.

Drift practically winced as he remembered something, his shoulders slumping down as he gave Rodimus a sad smile. “I should head back. ‘Report’ to everyone else on how you’re doing since Mr. Bright and Optimist over here—” He pointed his thumb at Ratchet. “—is bad at not berating you.”

Ratchet raised an eyebrow in mock-annoyance, but smirked playfully anyway. “He didn’t need to know that.”

Rodimus huffed. “Seriously, Ratchet?”

All four of them collectively chuckled, a dull tension lifted from the room. Rodimus couldn’t help but feel good laughing with his friends. He couldn’t wait to get back to his routine and be with the others. He couldn’t wait to get out of these damn casts already!

“I’ll be seeing you around, Rodders.” Drift said softly, standing up from his spot and turning towards the door. “Let Ratchet take care of you, okay?”

Rodimus rolled his eyes. “Fiiine.”

“I love you,” Drift said through a giggle.

Rodimus couldn’t help but smile at that. “I love you, too.”

Drift walked out of the room with a quiet click of the door closing behind him. Rodimus took a deep breath, knowing full well the mediator between the remaining three of them had just left. Not like Rodimus would pick a fight with either Ratchet or Magnus; his casts drained him of all the motivation he’d need to argue with anyone.

“Actually,” Ratchet spoke up, grabbing his coat and putting it on. “I have to go write your prescriptions for when you’re discharged, which won’t be long from now.” He turned to the remaining visitor and nodded at him. “Magnus, make sure he doesn’t do anything to hurt himself further, all right?”

“Of course.”

“Great.” Rodimus couldn’t see what Ratchet did with his face in the angle he was at, though he assumed it was most likely rolling his eyes. Magnus looked away in… embarrassment? Nervousness? Rodimus couldn’t tell, but it was an unusual look on Magnus.

The door slammed closed, the complete opposite of how Drift closed it, and the room fell into silence. Rodimus paid attention to the machines’ whirring behind his head, feeling really awkward with just Magnus in the room.

Magnus cleared his throat as quietly as he could, but even the whirring machines didn’t help hide it. He caught Rodimus’s attention, and he figured he might as well start talking.

“How is recovery so far?” He asked carefully. He knew the answer from Ratchet, but he also valued Rodimus’s input. He was the one recovering after all.

“Oh, you know,” Rodimus quickly responded, glad that the awkward silence had been broken. “Slow, boring, but good! Ratchet says for my arms to heal on their own, I gotta rest as much as I can, but I want to move so bad. You know how I am; I can’t stand not being able to do anything.”

Magnus chuckled gently. “I know.”

The silence returned, but it felt more comfortable this time. Like they were in known territory, finally. Rodimus visibly relaxed, and Magnus felt like he could fully relax with him.

“Rodimus?” Magnus spoke up again, his voice low like always, but… somehow timid as well. It definitely caught Rodimus’s attention.

“…Yeah?”

Magnus focused on a specific part of the wall behind Rodimus like he always did when he was thinking of the right words to say. By the way his face contorted, it was obvious he was really thinking hard. “I’m… happy that you’re alive,” he said, almost cautiously. “That you’re… in one piece, like Drift said.”

Rodimus knew what he was trying to say, and didn’t want this to become any more serious than it had to. “Yeah, no kidding.”

Magnus huffed, trying not to give Rodimus what he wanted. He couldn’t help the awkward smile that formed, and Rodimus took that as a win.

“But yeah,” Rodimus added. “I’m… glad I’ll be okay too.”

The comfortable silence between them stretched as they listened to the beeping and whirring of the machines behind Rodimus. There was something else on Rodimus’s mind, something he knew he shouldn’t be thinking about. He knew he was secure and safe, and like he belonged around Magnus. He knew that he was just feeling insecure and pushed away those feelings every time they came up.

But, the more he waited, and the more he avoided asking what he needed to ask, the more it felt like it was eating away at him. He knew how he got when he bottled things up, and, for once, he didn’t want to go down that path again.

He cleared his throat, and nervously wiggled his feet. “Actually… uh, Mags?”

“Yes?” Magnus asked.

“Uh, this whole… accident, I guess, got me thinking…”

Magnus nodded, waiting for Rodimus to continue. It’s now or never, Rodimus thought to himself, and took in a deep breath.

“Have you ever… thought that we were…” Rodimus let out his breath, shifting in the bed to get a little more comfortable. He looked away from Magnus. “…a mistake?”

Magnus was taken aback. This had never been brought up to him before. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, you know!” Rodimus almost interrupted. Magnus could see his body language was quickly shifting, despite all the limitations he had in a medical bed. He somehow scrunched into himself, he tried pulling his legs closer but stopped when he bent his knees too far. He didn’t look at Magnus, and avoided facing him entirely.

But that didn’t stop him from continuing. “I-I’m always doing shit like this. I don’t really do anything productive and force things onto you because you’re better at it than I am. I don’t… think things through or make a plan because I’m impulsive… And Drift…”

Magnus knew what Rodimus needed, and he cursed himself for not knowing how to give it to him. Rodimus had looked up at him briefly, as if expecting his response, and decided to start talking before the pause became any longer and more awkward.

“That stunt you pulled off was dangerous,” he started, trying to guide his reply towards what he really wanted to say. “And I won’t pretend that you being this dangerous doesn’t worry me, because it does. I’ll have a full head of grey hair within the next couple of years—”

“That’s because you’re old,” Rodimus interrupted without thinking, and pursed his lips as if realizing what he’d said wasn’t respectful.

Magnus simply snorted, and Rodimus visibly relaxed his shoulders. “My point is… you getting yourself into danger this way doesn’t change how much I… care about you.”

Something clicked in Rodimus’s brain. “Oh.”

“I am not in this relationship with you because of obligation, or because I’m too nice.” Magnus raised an eyebrow. “You know I’m not ‘too nice’.”

“Heh.”

“I am willingly dating you. We’re together because we both decided to do it together.”

Rodimus stared at his lap, deep in thought as he really took in Magnus’s words. He knew all of this, but hearing it from Magnus…

“…Right?”

Rodimus smiled. “Yeah. You’re right.” He took a deep, shaky breath. “I asked you out because… I’m serious about you, too.”

Magnus felt himself truly relax, and smiled crookedly. “Then don’t forget that we’re here together because we both chose to be.”

“Okay. I won’t.”

“Even with the incidents like this one.”

“Right.”

“I love you, Rodimus.”

Rodimus could have beamed. “I love you, too!”

Magnus nodded and shifted in his seat, clasping his hands together. A weight had lifted off of both of their shoulders, and it felt good to talk to Rodimus again.

Which reminded him…

“Don’t start apologizing about…” he struggled to find the right words he wanted to say, and gestured vaguely over Rodimus’s body. “…This. This is bad enough. Just… focus on recovering first. We’ll figure it out eventually.”

Rodimus’s smiled changed to something more playful. “Okay. I like that.”

Magnus squinted. He felt like he knew where Rodimus was headed. “What?”

“Figuring it out eventually.”

Magnus rolled his eyes. “Hm. Of course you would.”

Since Drift left, Rodimus let out a hearty laugh. “As long as it’s with you!”

It was music to Magnus’s ears. “Alright.”

“Rad.”

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve had this draft for like?? 2 years now?? I’m so glad I finally finished it FKDKDK
> 
> This was a lot of fun to rewrite and plan the dialogue :D I hope y’all liked it!! And @gold… yell at me when u done :^)


End file.
